In my time following the fandom, it seems Simon is always the least favorite of the main nine. He's just generally perceived as less interesting. Why is that? (Or, maybe it seems that way to me because he's my absolute favorite character ever.) I certainly think he manages to be one or the more interesting ones, has a lot of interesting things going on with him in his relationship to the crew and where he is and his relationship to the Alliance. Maybe it's because he tends to be quieter and isn't as obvious as some of the others. Like being overshadowed in a room of bigger personality, more charismatic people, and those who physically kick ass. Ah well. I'll be off in my "Simon is a darling" corner.

I'll join you in that corner, TenTonParasol. I think Simon's problem is that he is the character that viewers see as the most 'normal,' so people think he is dull. However, someone on IMDB once counted the lines in all the episodes, and Simon has the most after Mal. Simon's character was the one who was changing, and if you think about it, he was the character on the classic "hero's journey". I get the feeling that the writers had a lot in store for him.

I never gave it that much thought(who my favorite character was), as it was very much an ensemble show where no one really stood out (unlike Buffy and Angel who where the heroes of their respective shows), but Simon probably WAS my favorite character. Everything he said and did always seemed logical and understandable and he had a knack for surprising people. Plus, I like smart people, which he very often proved himself to be

I never would have named Simon as one of my favourites, until a recent rewatch when suddenly he really stood out to me. I agree with FarStrider, Simon was the sort of character who might have most benefited from a longer series run. I'd really love to have seen where it would have taken him.

I saw Simon as being a bit like post-buffoon, pre-angsty Wesley, who had a lot of potential. I can't pick a favorite, though in more that one of those "Which Firefly Character Are You?" quizzes, I was split between being Kaylee and Mal. So maybe them.

I feel Simon was there to ground the story and drive some things forward. He's not as flashy, but others wouldn't be the same without him, with or without the favorite character status.

I feel quite similar with Leslie Knope from parks and rec. She's more central than Simon, but I don't really enjoy her scenes, where as I liked Simons scenes. But, Parks wouldn't work without Leslie. And the other, more favorite characters, wouldn't be the same without her. Same with Simon.

Would we like Kaylee as much without Simon? Or River? Jayne? Simon had some awesome development and scenes, just because the others were more favored it doesn't mean his importance was any less.

For me at first it was Kaylee and Jayne, and then after a while I couldn't even pick a top 3 because I also really loved Mal and River (not that I don't love all the others, cause I do!), but interesting enough I haven't thought about this in a while and when I clicked on this link I just couldn't include Jayne on my top 3 anymore and I think it's actually because of things completely unrelated to the show, which is sad for me, but oh well. Anyway, I ended up voting Kaylee on this pool.

I agree. Simon was probably going to become a very interesting character. There was a level of being normal, but also, his sacrifice for River and putting up with the Serenity crew was pushing his buttons. Plus the relationship with Kaylee.

I always found the most interesting thing about Simon was in Joss' comment about Simon as representative of what the Alliance is supposed to be about even though he was hunted by it.

That would've been interesting to see develop, especially in a post-Miranda context. Whether Simon can maintain holding the good and proper ideals and values and good qualities of the Alliance, if he could continue to be in a way the best the Alliance could be, knowing that the Alliance is so far from what he tries to represent.

TenTonParasol - yes, definitely. And because his morals and sense of himself were so well suited to his privileged life on a Central Planet, it would have been so interesting to see how they would have held up living where people aren't fair, where society isn't perfectly ordered and controlled, and where you can die if you play by the rules.